The New York Jets’ special teams unit has been a roller coaster over the last few seasons.

In 2024, the unit was a disaster, particularly the team’s kicking game. Gang Green cycled through five kickers that season. Several close losses could be attributed to missed kicks.

The script flipped dramatically in 2025, though. The Jets had a historic year on special teams while Nick Folk was nearly automatic. He missed one field goal and no extra points across 17 games.

However, with the start of the 2026 regular season less than two weeks away, the Jets still don’t have an answer at kicker after letting Folk sign with the Atlanta Falcons this offseason.

That’s… a problem, to say the least.

Jets’ kicking situation is really concerning

Throughout the offseason, the Jets have rostered six different kickers: Will Ferrin, Lenny Krieg, Younghoe Koo, Jason Sanders, Cade York, and Blake Grupe.

Yet, the team still doesn’t have its answer at the position. Sanders was declared the winner of the team’s “competition” last week, but after missing a 54-yard field goal and an extra point during the Jets’ preseason finale, New York picked up another kicker on the waiver wire: Blake Grupe.

Now, Sanders and Grupe are “competing” for the job, but the Jets seemingly don’t feel satisfied with just that. On Wednesday, the team had former Los Angeles Rams kicker Joshua Karty in for a workout, indicating there could be even more movement at the position.

The Jets are at the top of the list of NFL teams that must get off to a hot start in 2026. Following a 3-14 season in which the team posted the worst December point differential in league history, the Jets need to make a statement out of the gate.

There isn’t much margin for error. While the team’s roster improved significantly over the offseason, they don’t have the talent to overcome poor kicking.

The perplexing part of this situation is that the team let Folk walk in the offseason. Bringing Folk back would have solved all of this hoopla. While the reasoning behind his departure remains unknown, whether it was because of a minor difference in years or salary, it would have been wise for the Jets to just pay up if Folk were willing to return.

We don’t know how the Folk situation went down behind closed doors, but the team’s alternative path hasn’t inspired confidence that they had a real backup plan after losing him.

There are a few narratives about Folk that can be debunked in light of his recent accomplishments. Despite entering his 40s, he has actually gotten better with age, leading the league in field goal percentage in each of the past three seasons. He also does not lack leg strength. Folk hit a 56-yard game-winning field goal for the team in the rain last season to beat the Atlanta Falcons in Week 13, as well as a career-long 58-yarder in Week 4.

While there isn’t much evidence indicating that the Jets will have a rock-solid kicker this season, the message to Aaron Glenn is simple: it must work out, or it could cost him his job.